I Promise
by Altra
Summary: My second Harry Potter fic, another slytherins-are-nice fic. Sorta. PG-13 for lots of language and drug use. Underlying darkness. you've been warned. r/r!


A/N: K, here is my second Harry Potter fic. I sat in my room for an hour and a half and just wrote. I was in Harry land, I was Pansy. Oh yes, this is a Slytherin friendly fic, but it has an underlying darkness. Involves drug use, which is a serious topic which most fanfic authors overlook in favor of _other_ things.   
  
*words in asterisk are thoughts*  
  
I Promise  
Pansy Parkinson flew down the steps, a insane grin crossing her features. Turning, she ran down another corridor, pushing two first years out of her way. She came to a screeching halt before the Slytherin portrait. It was a horrifying depiction of war. A particular feral looking man stood out, a bored look on his face. Raising an eyebrow, he awaited the password.  
"Potion, potion, potion!" she yelled, wishing for the portrait to move faster. Grumbling, the portrait swung open. Scrabbling through the entrance, she dashed across the Common Room, ignoring the curious looks of the late students. Climbing the steps to the dormitory, two at a time, she couldn't help but finger the brown bag in her pocket. Reaching her dorm, she threw the door open. To her delight, no one was present.  
"Finally!" she cried. Flinging herself down on her bed, she pulled the bag from her pocket, dumping its contents on her bed. A vile, syringe, and piece of parchment lay there. It read:  
  
Pansy-  
Here's the stuff, ready to go. You get caught, you didn't get it from me, right? I'm sending the rest tomorrow. Pleasure doing business with you.  
  
-You Know  
  
A sudden hunger filled her eyes. Quickly, she extracted the liquid from the vile using the syringe. Pulling up her left sleeve, she revealed a expanse of holes. Plunging the syringe into her arm, her eyes rolled back in pleasure. Ecstasy coursed through her body. The door to the dorm closed, though it went unnoticed.  
Draco frowned into the dark hallway. *Damn... damnit! She told me she stopped!*, he thought angrily. His anger quickly dissolved into worry. *She's my best friend. I might not love her, but she doesn't need this.* Leaning back against the door, memories of the last time he caught Pansy flooded back.  
  
~~ Third Year (3 years earlier)~~  
  
"Pansy? C'mon Pansy! I didn't mean it! Honest!" A 13-year-old Draco called from the opposite side of the girls dorms' door. What he was apologizing for, he didn't know.  
"Just go away!" she yelled back, her voice portraying tears.  
"Pansy? Pansy, please come to Hogsmeade! Well?" Silence. "Fine!" he yelled, before stalking off.  
Returning hours later, Draco immediately ran to the shower to clean the muck out of his hair. *What on EARTH was Potter's head doing in the middle of Hogsmeade?*, he thought in disbelief. Hair muck-free and in new robes, Draco paused, before turning to find Pansy. He halted before the door, fighting a battle of whether he should swallow his pride and apologize or wait for her to come to her senses. His pride swallowed, he tentatively knocked on the door.  
"Pansy? Can you please let me in?" he questioned. When there was no response, he waited a few minutes before opening the doors. Horror and fear struck him at once.  
On the floor lay Pansy, spread-eagle, a needle sticking out of her arm, muttering to herself.   
"Pansy?" Draco breathed. Kneeling besides her, he pulled her head onto his lap. "Pansy, Pansy wake up," shaking her slightly, and getting no response, panic rose. "Pansy god damnit WAKE UP!" he yelled. *Thank god everyone is still at Hogsmeade, I'd be in deep shit if anyone caught me here with Pansy like this.* Shaking her roughly, he saw Pansy's eyes flutter.  
"Wha?" she said. Looking at him, recognition dawned on her.  
"Thank god! Pansy what happened? What was in this needle?" he asked her. Shaking with fright, she pulled herself out of his grasp.  
"Nothing happened! Nothing at all! N-nothing was in the needle!" she exclaimed, fear in her voice.  
"That's not true and you know it! Tell me what's wrong!" Noticing her terrified look, he mentally punched himself. Softening his tone, he let his barrier fall.  
"Please Pansy. I want to help you."  
"D-d-d-raco... I just-it-I-it's heroin!" she said. Hiding her face in her hands. Slowly, Draco stood and walked towards her, putting an arm around her shoulders.  
"You need to stop," he whispered in her ear. He felt the shiver that ran down her back.  
  
~~Back to "present day" (sixth year)~~  
  
*Slowly, she weaned herself off, she did become even more dependent on me, though. I wonder why she started again...*  
He heard a thump from inside the room. Throwing the door open, he found Pansy, passed out over her trunk.  
"Pansy!" he said. Grabbing her into his arms, he shook her roughly. "Wake up!" he grumbled. She didn't move.  
Unbelievable fear swept through him. Without thinking he picked her up, and began running towards the hospital wing.  
  
***  
  
"You guys, I'm not feeling very well..." Hermione said.  
"Lets go to the hospital wind, ok?" Ginny said. Nodding in consent, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny walked towards the hospital wing. Upon arrival, Hermione was sat on a bed, while Madam Pomfrey set off to deal with other students. Through the unusual silence, bits of a conversation floated to them.  
"... -oin Mr. Malfoy? You..."  
"... she stopped... pos-"  
"...how long..."  
"... idea. Never told..."  
The conversation drifted away. The four looked at each other.  
"Bet five galleons Malfoy poisoned some girl." Ron said.  
"Ron!" Ginny and Hermione said in unison. Unable to contain their curiosity, the four walked over to the far corner, where the last bed lay. They tried to peak through the curtains surrounding it to see who was injured.  
"Get your asses in here of leave but DON'T spy," came Malay's voice, missing it's usual arrogance. Guiltily, the four walked in. Hermione gasped when she saw Pansy.  
"What happened?!" she exclaimed.  
"N... none of... your business... Muddled," Pansy grumbled in pain.  
"Rest Pansy," Draco said softly.  
Ron chose that moment to vent his frustration.  
"What did you do, Malfoy?! Poison her?! Did one of your friends decide to hurt your dear little girlfriend?" he sneered, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Pansy sat up, a wave of fear searing through her body.  
"I refuse to lay here like an invalid while you insult him!" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "First off, Draco is not my boyfriend. Is there some law that says your best friend has to be a girl?" she said, ignoring Drake's protests of her needing rest. "Secondly, he didn't poison me, as if it's any of your business! Thirdly, NO ONE hurt me. This is a result of my own blunder you prat!" Her sudden burst of energy disappeared, she fell back against her pillows breathing heavily. Draco propped her up, as she obviously had a bit more to say.  
"You are hardly worthy of being at Hogwarts! Much less a Gryffindor! Such a lousy-"  
"You're one to talk!" Ron said, ears red. "A Slytherin!" he spat," not even good enough for a decent house. Evil! That's what you are! The whole lot of you!"  
Draco stood up so quickly his chair fell over. Turning, he spoke to them for the first time since they had entered.  
"I wonder why," he replied, his voice dangerously low. "I wonder why we are all so evil as the world hates us! Do you know what it's like to be raised in constant fear of your parents? Your siblings? Your "friends"? No, you clearly don't. You think life is peachy being the son of a Death Eater? Think again! It's a curse! One you can never escape! Only in death, and not even then! Did you know the soul can be caught? Well? It can. Torture. Everlasting. Its cruel. Kill or be killed. And you know what? Most of us have killed before we turned five. Games, they called them." Unbuttoning his robes, Draco pulled up his undershirt, revealing a hideous scar that ran from collarbone to belt. "My brother gave me this. Thought I needed to be a bit tougher. Don't look at me like that. He's at Beauxbaton. He's an aid, 21. Now I ask you, which is a better life?" he asked. None of them said anything. Righting his chair, Draco sat down. Pansy squeezed his hand.  
"So-a dark wizard did this to you Pansy?" Ginny asked.  
"No," she whispered. "A gift from Hell did. A false Heaven." Ginny slowly walked to Pansy's bedside, opposite Draco. Hesitantly, she picked up Pansy's free hand.  
"Don't give up hope," she said softly. All eyes focused on her. "It's to early for Heaven and Hell. Life is life, it's neither and both. I'd prefer life to either of them any day."  
"Sure as Hell beats the alternative," Harry muttered. Pansy laughed, Ron smiled. *She's not that bad once you get to know her,* Ron thought. *Where did that come from?!*  
"What's going on here?" Madam Pomfrey yelled. "Miss Parkinson needs her rest! Hermione, I have that potion for your headache. Mr. Malfoy, I suggest you get to class." Hermione and Madam Pomfrey left, Draco hugged Pansy.  
"You get better! And please don't lie to me next time, ok?" he asked.  
"You've got my word," she said. Draco flashed her one quick, genuine, smile, before leaving. Harry walked forward, extending a hand to Pansy. She glanced at him, before placing her own hand in his.  
"Truce. Why don't you come to Hogsmeade with us when you're better?" Harry asked.  
"Deal," she said with a smile. Harry waved and left.  
"Like Harry said, I'm your friend now, whether you like me or not!" Ginny said. Pansy laughed.  
"No wonder he likes you!" she said between giggles.  
"Who?" Ginny questioned.  
"Whoops! Wasn't supposed to say anything!" Pansy said brightly.  
"Darn! Oh well, bye-bye!" With that, Ginny was gone.  
Ron stared at Pansy for a long while.  
"I don't know about this, but I'll be civil, if your boy- I mean "friend" - is civil too," he said a bit shakily.  
"You know, you're cute when you're not being an ass," Pansy said, her eyes dancing. Ears red, Ron said a hasty goodbye and positively ran out of the hospital wing.  
Leaning back, Pansy looked to the ceiling, and made herself a promise.  
"I'll get better... for them."  
  
  
  
A/N: DONE! Please r/r!   
  



End file.
